Parks, Recreation & Forestry Advisory Board

CITY OF SPEARFISH 625 Fifth Street, Spearfish S.D. 57783 Telephone: (605) 642-1333 Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Advisory Board – AGENDA Thursday, October 19, 2017 I City Hall – Council Chambers I 7:00 am APPROVAL OF AGENDA - Move to approve by Kelly 2nd by Gefvert; Motion Passed APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Move to approve by Neilson 2nd by Gefvert; Motion Passed Minutes will be sent in an email. ITEMS FROM VISITORS (Policy Note: Visitors are limited to 5 minutes of presentation followed by questions) OLD BUSINESS Board Items 1. Campground fees a) Mader acknowledged that the pricing was odd, and should be changed around for consistency. The regular daily rates have been raised. Charging for additional people in vehicle or campsite will no longer exist. b) Rally rates will remain the same for the most part, since they are already increased for that time frame. A more conservative revenue impact estimate of $60,000 was made, which includes projecting the same occupancies for next year. Rally numbers continue to decline. Mader proposed to stretch the season out and to encourage winter camping. Regular daily fees will be somewhere between $35 to $45 dollars. This would be out pricing other campgrounds in the area by only $2 or $3. Motion by Donat to send to council 2nd by Hanson; motion carries. The camp ground will move forward with Camp Native to have online booking. Director Updates 1. Mowed pathway from Jorgensen Park (with guest input) a) Mader presents; developers want to pave an 8ft wide pathway for citizens of the new development going up. The path will connect to the North side of town, out to The Reserve. It will also tie in South by Jorgensen Park. The trailhead would be mowed in at Jorgensen Park. Parking would be available on the East side up to the development. b) Door hangers were placed on the doors of the homes that would have the new trail in their backyard. Four houses would be affected, and three of the four homeowners are present at the meeting. They would prefer to have a pedestrian bridge that connected to the other side of Spearfish Creek where a path already exists. The pedestrian bridge would allow easy access to kids walking to Creekside Elementary School. c) According to the most recent floodplain map, the bridge would have to be about 240ft. to meet the requirements and be out of the floodplain. This would cost at least $300,000. The Engineering Tech/Floodplain Administrator, Tonya Vig, was present at the meeting. Vig stated that the floodplain is changing and the map is being updated. It is most likely going to be narrower, allowing for a smaller, less expensive bridge. Next Meeting – November 16, 2017 7:00 am Council Chambers  CITY OF SPEARFISH 625 Fifth Street, Spearfish S.D. 57783 Telephone: (605) 642-1333 d) The homeowners being affected by the path presented their case for having a pedestrian bridge instead of another path. They felt that giving public access to an area with lots of tree cover behind their homes was not safe for their families. There are eight children within those four houses. They also argued that people would have unleashed pets on the path as well as unmanaged pet waste. The path would also connect to the new brewery, which could increase the number of intoxicated people using the path. The homeowners would have no way to protect themselves from the unpredictable traffic. Their backyards are on the floodplain and they cannot build a fence or plant trees for privacy. There is no way for them to create a barrier due to FEMA regulations. It was also argued that if the path were to be eventually paved, it would be another costly path for the city to maintain. The path would also not be accessible for the Evans or Lower Valley areas. The path would sit on a floodplain, since it is the lower side of the Spearfish Creek. Vig stated that most paths aren’t built on a floodplain since they require a lot more maintenance. e) Mader informed the homeowners and the council that there are no set plans for the developers to mow and open the path. Everything is still preliminary. The council pointed out that a bridge further North would make sense to allow access to the concrete path on the other side of Spearfish Creek. The landowners showed interest in helping fundraise for the pedestrian bridge. If the bridge span was only 75ft. the cost would be under $100,000. Bridge size can be determined after the new floodplain map coming out soon. f) Mader stated that the minutes will start going out city wide. The homeowners will also remain informed as decisions are made. Mader stated that there has been good communication between him and the homeowners thus far. 2. Lookout Mountain lease update a) Mader toured Lookout Mountain with Wayne Winters to look over the conversation of the mountain. Winters was pleased with how things were going and how they were looking. However, he did have a slight issue with the pathway development. They are trying to move away from using barbed wire. Some pathways have also been constructed without proper approval. b) Safety concern is another issue. Proper signage should be implemented in order to keep individuals on the correct paths and to keep individuals from cutting their own paths. Everything done on Lookout Mountain will need proper approval. When it comes to expanding pathways for bike riders, expansion need to responsible with the land that is available. c) Mader stated that the annual review went well, however, some signage is needed to and some trails will be closed to be naturally reclaimed. Mader has been working with others to identify places to put signs. Having interpretive signs to better keep people on the correct paths was also discussed. d) The issue of cattle grazing was discussed. The cattle on Lookout Mountain are causing significant damage and causing more weeds to grow. The current lease just closed. It will Next Meeting – November 16, 2017 7:00 am Council Chambers  CITY OF SPEARFISH 625 Fifth Street, Spearfish S.D. 57783 Telephone: (605) 642-1333 either be reopened for bid in January or February. Taking a break from having that land leased was discussed and tabled for the next meeting. 3. Master Planning a) A study from GreenPlay LLC will be incorporated into future plans. Plan will be broken into sub committees: parks, outdoor rec, indoor rec, etc. Mader estimates costs will be at least $60,000 for a comprehensive master plan. Plan will include items such as new playground equipment for the Spearfish City Park b) It is important for the Spearfish Parks, Recreation, and Forestry to be constantly evolving as the city expands. Spearfish citizens have shown a lot of interest and passion and willingness to invest in the Spearfish Parks, Recreation, and Forestry. Park & Forestry 1. Tree program a) Tyler created this and it was put on hold due to his absence. There are too many happenings currently and there is no qualified individual to carry on this project. No efforts to move forward will be made until Tyler is back. 2. Donor benches a) Only 4 spots left. A new enhancement program should be implemented, something other than benches. If the path extension happens, new benches can be sold then. Bridge planks or parts of the bridge can be sold off if it is decided the bridge will be built. 3. Public Restrooms a) Members of the council were interested in keeping the State Street public restroom open year round. The public restroom at Lions Park is remaining open year round. The success or failure of that will determine if State Street’s public restroom will remained open or not. Rec & Aquatic Center 1. Introduction of new staff a) Jessica Mollman is the new Recreation Administrative Assistant 2. Rauterkus gave a summer recap a) Day pass revenue was $186,355.00 or 101% of the projected revenue b) 1,161 Waterpark memberships were sold which generated $71,347 in revenue. This was 90% of the projected revenue. Ten less memberships were sold as compared to last year. 30,000 day passes were sold, the facility was open for 101 days, with only 4 days of closure. c) Lifeguard staff worked a total of 14,980 hours, which was a cost of $144,648.46. d) Front desk staff worked a total of 2,195 hours, which was a cost of $20,943.30. e) Total cost of staffing: $165,591.76. f) Total Revenue: $257,702.00. g) Total Revenue after staffing costs: $92,111.00. h) Chemical costs were $36,347.00. a. Chemical costs are being reduced and will continue to be reduced. i) Concessions staff worked 2210 hours, which was a cost of $19,947.37. Next Meeting – November 16, 2017 7:00 am Council Chambers  CITY OF SPEARFISH 625 Fifth Street, Spearfish S.D. 57783 Telephone: (605) 642-1333 3. Other Items a) Tennis numbers were down from previous years. b) Summer rec numbers were up from previous years. c) The end of the year scholarship will be discussed at the next meeting. a. There are plans for the scholarship program. d) Several rec grants are in the works. NEW BUSINESS Board Items Park & Forestry Rec & Aquatic Center CONSENT AGENDA / FYI ITEMS  Fall Festival Carnival Oct 27th 5-8pm  Safe Trick or Treating Oct 31st 5-8pm  Skate Night Nov. 3rd  Save the Date! Employee Appreciation Event Friday, January 12, 2018 6pm at Spearfish Pavilion Might be some changes CLOSING - Move to adjourn by Kelly 2nd by Gefvert; Motion Passed. Next Meeting – November 16, 2017 7:00 am Council Chambers